No Excuse!--by Linden Malki

We have been making excuses for our misdeeds since the beginning of time. The problem of making
excuses is that it doesn't solve anything; in fact, it usually causes more trouble.  In the context of the last few weeks' studies, it adds to our baggage, one more thing that pulls us down.

One of the most honest men we know about in Scripture is David. He made mistakes; some of them pretty serious. The reason we know about him not that he made mistakes, but he was willing to recognize his guilt, which is a real thing. This is his reaction: "When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me..."  But he didn't get stuck there. He goes on: "I acknowledged my sin to you, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.' And you forgave the guilt of my sin." In the 500 years since Moses at Sinai, the Israelites had no excuse for not recogizing sin. Another thousand years later, they had the idea pretty well down, but it had turned into baggage full of law.

Peter and his associates knew the Law; and they had already met Jesus. They had heard Him speak in the synagogue, they had seen Him drive out demons. They had watched Him heal Peter's mother-in-law when she had been ill. They saw the crowds push against the lakefront, to where Jesus had asked Peter for the use of his fishing boat as a place to sit, as in  that culture, teachers and rabbis sat down while their audience stood. Then when Jesus had finished His teaching, He told Peter to push out and fish.

Peter. as usual, engaged mouth without brain, and said there were no fish biting that day.  He hadn't figured out yet that Jesus wasn't subject to the usual way things happened. What is interesting that Peter's reaction to the load of fish was to fall on his knees before Jesus,  become aware of the spiritual power of Jesus, and and the contrast with his own guilt. And Jesus didn't beg Peter to join Him, but knew that the four fisherman would follow Him and allow Him to change their lives.

In the past weeks, we've faced the realities of hangups that drag us down: time pressures, unhealthy relationships, anger, and guilt.  All of these, and more, are the result of not having our values and priorities in line.  Yes, we need to be aware of things that are holding us back, but we don't have the strength or wisdom to deal with them on our own. We need to face the fact that we can't do it, and realize that God is waiting for us to ask for help; to be willing to turn over our loaded-down lives to Him, and let Him deal with it. I've been amazed at things that He has done that I would never have expected but that were the right thing at the right time--that's what He made us for!